In Virginia, reckless driving is treated as a serious offense that can result in serious consequences such as fines, jail time, and a misdemeanor charge added to your criminal record. If you are being charged with reckless driving it’s important to know the specific consequences that you are facing, especially if you are an out of state driver. With this in mind the following are commonly asked questions on the consequences of a reckless driving conviction. To learn more schedule a consultation with a Virginia reckless driving lawyer today.
In terms of the long-term consequences, it’s a class one misdemeanor. If you’re convicted of a class one misdemeanor, it’s on your permanent record. Just like a DUI, it can have serious insurance consequences, and you could potentially lose your license. Reckless driving can have permanent consequences. It’s not something you can make disappear, like a traffic infraction or a moving violation, and while you may not be required to report it to your employer, reckless driving can involve jail time. That can force you to change your work schedule, and that’s going to be hard to hide from an employer. Sometimes you just can’t avoid it.
In Virginia, it’s important to understand that different localities have different ways of approaching reckless driving. Some will be willing to reduce it to a speeding ticket. Others will want you to sign up for a certain type of driver improvement course in order to show a good faith effort to try to amend your driving ability. That way, hopefully you can resolve the case without being convicted of a class one misdemeanor. It’s also important to understand that reckless driving is a class one misdemeanor in Virginia and it can be reported to other states, which can result in the loss of license that is sometimes associated with reckless driving. It’s important to have an attorney who understands what those consequences can be, and who knows what can happen to the people who live in other areas, for example Maryland or the District of Columbia.
Reckless driving can put six points on your license in the state of Virginia. It can also potentially lead to a suspension of your ability to drive, not to mention the effects it could have on your insurance premiums once that information is reported to an insurance company. It can also have an effect on out-of-state drivers, because reckless driving is a serious offense in other states as well, and based on the interstate compact agreement, that information will be reported to your home state. It’s important to have an attorney who understands which states take reckless driving charges more seriously, and how that compares to, for example, a DUI.
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